Secrets
by Mad World
Summary: QuistisxFujin. Fujin returns from a secret mission and is plagued with nightmares.
1. Chapter 1

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Secrets

**Chapter 1**

The night had been long for Quistis Trepe. Her thoughts, her worries and doubts keeping her awake for most of the night and when she finally fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion she found herself awake only a few hours later.

She awoke from a restless sleep before her alarm clock as usual and lifted her head from the pillow to face the day. She was forced to squint as her eyes focused and got used to the piercing light of the sun that shone through the wall length window of her quarters in Balamb Garden. She really had to start shutting the blinds before she fell asleep but Quistis' recent insomnia had made her quite fond of stargazing out of her open window. She grudgingly sat up and bitterly thought of the irony of how she could never sleep when she wanted to but when she needed to be up she was exhausted. She wiped the negative thoughts from her mind, got out of bed and stepped into the shower intent on refreshing herself from a sleepless night. She could feel herself getting in a bad mood and she definitely did not want to feel miserable for another day. Yes she'd had quite enough of that.

After her revitalizing shower she left her apartment dressed in her usual attire and hoped her walk to her classroom would be relatively undisturbed by the ever increasing number of trepies roaming the halls. She smiled at the thought because although they were annoying, the fact she had her own 'fan club' was extremely flattering. Her purposeful strides slowed to a tired walk as she entered the empty second floor classroom and sat at her desk. She could not keep doing this much longer she kept telling herself. She could put on this happy façade a few hours each morning but the stress would weigh her down and take her over at the end of the day. Quistis leaned back into her chair and waited for her class to arrive. Immediately after the Sorceress War she had achieved the title of hero as did her friends but more importantly to her she had proved her leadership skills and gained back her Instructor's license. The best thing about that was that she knew she deserved it. She had earned it for a second time and this time no one could take it away from her. But it wasn't something she thought a lot about anymore. Other things had a bit more importance in her life now.

_Two months_ she thought wistfully. Two months since Fujin Kazeno had left. Fujin, along with Seifer and Raijin, had returned to Garden a year after the Sorceress War with pride and heads held high. There return had been unexpected to the people of Garden and there had been several violent outbreaks instigated by several angered students when they discovered that the posse had been allowed to train as SeeDs again. Nevertheless the three had kept their heads down, ignored the slandering and threats and focused on their studies much to everyone's surprise. Fujin and Seifer had become fully fledged SeeDs within months which everyone had expected from the start but Raijin had a severe step back after unfortunately injuring his back in battle. His fate still had to be decided. Everyone had always known Seifer had the potential and capability to be one of the most gifted SeeDs in Garden he just lacked obedience. But restraint had been one of the many things he'd learnt after his time away from Garden and spending the last year with his two faithful comrades. Fujin also had a reputation as an accomplished and skilled fighter and well deserved the title of SeeD mercenary to her name even after becoming sidetracked onto the side of the enemy during the War.

Since Fujin had been registered in one of Quistis's classes they had become close friends as Quistis offered to help her more with her studies during her free time. A blissful smile crept across her face as she thought about their time together then. She'd seen a side of Fujin she'd never seen before then during those tough months and she knew she had fallen for her right from the start. It was an unexpected surprise to her of course but a very welcome one. It had never occurred to her before that she could fall in love with someone like Fujin but there was just something special about her, which she was so drawn to. Her smile was soon replaced by a grim and anguished expression as she realized that Fujin was probably never coming back. Hell, she didn't even know if she was alive. Two months ago Fujin had volunteered at the last minute for a mission to the perilous Grandidi Forest, well known for its limitless amount of bone-crushingly dangerous monsters living in its depths, along with Seifer and three other rookie SeeDs she'd never heard of before. The mission was rumored to be extremely top secret and came with high risks, which did nothing to settle Quistis' nerves over Fujin's safety. She knew the type of people who volunteered for those missions and they were not people like Fujin, they were more like Seifer with a hint more arrogance and cockiness.But the fact that the pay for these missions was worth triple the average SeeD salary was alsoa very attractive feature. The missions may have good pay but they were bloody foolhardy and life threatening. Quistis wondered why SeeD ever allowed such missions and she could not figure to this day why Fujin would leave all of a sudden to go on one of these reckless assignments. She wondered had the money been too much of a temptation? No, Fujin was not like that. Had Seifer made her go? No, not even Seifer would make his best friend risk her life. No matter how many explanations and excuses she thought of she always brooded over one thought: had Fujin left because of her?

All Quistis could do was wait and hope that Fujin was safe and that she would come back to Garden unharmed.

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Fujin sat back into her seat on the sleek SeeD transport and breathed a sigh of relief that this mission was finally over and she and the rest of the team were returning to Garden. She bowed her head slightly and closed her eyes as she felt the ship shudder violently as it departed the shore and glided out into the ocean toward Balamb. Fujin rested her head back hoping to fall asleep but grimaced slightly as she could still feel the vibrations of the transport. Sleep never did come easy for her. The sound of someone sitting down next to her caught her attention and she opened her eye to acknowledge them.

'How ya doin?' Seifer leaned back in his seat, put his feet up on the table and greeted Fujin with a more sympathetic edge to his grin. She turned to her friend and made an expression that vaguely resembled a smile.

'That good, huh?' he chuckled softly at the face she made. Fujin shook her head at Seifer, not quite understanding how he could be so cheerful and sat up in her seat resting her elbows on her knees.

'I'm fine' she said tersely before closing her eye and resting her head in her hands. Seifer had become used to Fujin's silent manner and abrupt way of speaking so he didn't push her into saying anything more than she was willing to but the fact that his friend was so obviously not fine was worrying him. He'd never known Fujin to dwell on a matter for so long before.

'Fujin…it'll be alright.' He tried to cheer her up but the sound of her muffled sarcastic laughter told him she did not believe a word of it. He watched her for a minute as she massaged her temples trying to dissipate the ache of an encroaching migraine.

'You can't let this get to you Fujin,' Seifer said as he put a comforting hand on her shoulder and waited for Fujin to look at him. She found it hard to ignore her closest friend and was inevitably forced to look him in the eye as he reassured her,

'We did what we came to do and now its finished. Everything that happened there stays there' he leaned in closer to Fujin and whispered in her ear,

'Look Fuj, you know you can trust me...and those guys,' he nodded his head in the direction of the three other team members who sat stoically on the row of seats opposite him and Fujin, 'well they know the score,' he spoke the last sentence loud enough for the three other SeeDs to hear. They all looked to each other then to Seifer and Fujin and it was clear in Fujin's eyes that were was a silent but clear understanding between all of them.

Fujin took a moment to observe the three other members of the team who now sat with heads bowed and deep in thought. They were tough, dependable in the field and terribly overconfident. She was not familiar with any of them and was extremely glad that Seifer had come with her on this mission. She wouldn't have plucked up the nerve to go alone she was ashamed to admit. But rather to Fujin's own surprise she felt she could trust the three SeeDs that suddenly had a new found respect for her in an odd sort of way after the disturbing set of events that had taken place during the last two months. However, she had no desire to make friends. One thing was certain; she never wanted to lay eyes on any them ever again.

'Don't worry Fuj,' she heard Seifer's confident voice in the background, 'just a couple more hours and we'll be back home.' Fujin was relieved the mission in Grandidi Forest was over but she was not all that excited at the prospect of returning to the Garden after all that had happened. The mere thought of standing in the Headmaster's office in front of Hyne knows how many SeeD officials and giving a full debriefing of the mission filled her up with dread. _Time to face the music _she thought whilst clasping her hands together in her lap to try and stop them shaking.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

The ride back to Balamb had seemed a lot shorter than a couple of hours to Fujin who had been the only one to stay awake with only her annoyingly repetitive thoughts keeping her company in the cold, quiet transport. During the journey her ears had tuned into nothing but the silent hum of the engines and she could immediately tell they were slowing down suggesting they were approaching Balamb harbour. She could feel her heart beating faster as her anxiety grew with every mile she came closer to Garden. As soon as the ship docked, Fujin stood up and punched Seifer lightly on his shoulder waking him up from his deep sleep.

'Wha…?' came his dozy reply, 'What's up? We're back already?' he asked as he noticed Fujin and the others were reaching for their belongings in the overhead compartments. She passed a bag to Seifer who was now fully awake and just as eager as everyone else to get off the ship and onto the concrete platform of Balamb's harbour. One by one the five SeeDs stepped off the transport and lined up side-by-side in the appropriate SeeD posture with feet together and arms straight and at their sides. There they waited for the Mission Director to finish his conversation with the ship's captain and make his way over to them. Fujin had already come to the conclusion that the Director was nothing but a coward. Rusco she believed his name was. She had not had time to get that acquainted with the Director due to her late application for the mission but felt she already knew all she wanted to know about him. He was middle aged and of average height with short dark and was dressed in a smart grey suit. He was not a fighter that was for sure and his clean hair and designer clothes only helped to alienate him further from the group of thin, dirty and exhausted mercenaries. He did not actually go on the mission of course, he only dropped them off and picked them up from Grandidi Forest safely tucked away in the armored SeeD transport. So just how the hell he thought he had the authority to order five SeeDs to spend two months chasing some fucking psycho down in the most monster infested area in the world Fujin would never know.

Fujin calmed herself down when she realized her hands had curled into fists and guessed her facial expression must have been showing the same contempt as her body language was. She knew it was not professional to direct her anger at the Director. After all it had been her decision to go and she was not about to regret it no matter how confused she was feeling over it. Her eyes followed the steps of the Director's as he made his way over to the team. Fujin wasn't really expecting him to do anything; a quick, 'at ease' so they could sit down and rest for a moment before he ordered them back to Garden. What she didn't expect him to do was stand in front of them for a long short while with his arms folded in front of his chest, and then take a pair of shades out of his front pocket and adjust them on to his face with careful precision. The short gesture had striked her has egotistical and terribly unnecessary as the weather conditions were far from sunny. She heard Seifer snort beside her and look to her with a expression which obviously said, 'Who the hell does this guy think he is?' Fujin nodded her agreement to him before focusing her attention back to Rusco. She was glad she wasn't the only one who didn't like the guy.

'Well, team. It's good to see that there were know fatalities,' he made a rather undignified and wry smile to them, 'well…no fatalities that saddens me,' he chuckled quietly. _Oh…a joke_ Fujin thought as she rolled her eye. She agreed with him but she really didn't think it was funny.

'You all did a good job. The Estharian Government is relatively pleased with the outcome,'

Relatively? Just what the hell did that mean?

'Of course they would have preferred that the fugitive had been caught alive but well,' 'it was a dead or alive capture stated in the mission specification and these things can't be helped.' he paused slightly and turned to look upon Fujin,

'Don't worry Kazeno, the people of Esthar already regard you as a sort of hero and it won't take long for everyone else to agree,' he offered her a thin smile and then spoke to the whole team.

'You are all to report to Headmaster Cid as soon as you return to Garden, he expects a full debriefing of the mission when you get back. You are all dismissed, I will see you all later,' and with that he left just as soon as he'd arrived.

Fujin stood still lost in thought, Rusco's words spiralling around in her mind. _Don't worry…the people of Esthar already regard you as a sort of hero. _She couldn't believe that word of what had happened had already reached Esthar and they regarded her as…a hero? Bloody hell.

'See? What did I tell you? Didn't I say it was gonna be fine?' Seifer's words brought her back to Earth. She followed him and the others quietly as they walked on as fast as their injuries would let them.

'Don't get it,' Fujin spoke barely above a whisper so only Seifer would hear.

'You don't get what?'

'Why I'm a 'hero',' she said with a hint of disgust in her voice.

'Fuj I thought this was the kind of reaction you'd be hoping for when we got back.' He said looking at Fujin with mild confusion. She was beginning to get jealous at Seifer's ability to stay remarkably calm considering the circumstances. Of course Rusco's response was perfectly fine but wasn't he in the slightest bit concerned about what Garden would have to say? Well if he didn't, she sure as hell did.

'I don't know,' she said dejectedly. She was really beginning to feel the pain of her injuries again now she was back on land and by watching her fellow SeeDs limping and wincing she could tell she wasn't the only one. They'd run out of cure spells close to the end of the mission and they'd paid the price for under-stocking spells. Looking back she should have seen it coming

'You haven't done anything wrong and you know that. You've got nothing to worry about,' Seifer looked down at her reassuringly. She smiled lightly feeling very grateful for Seifer's comforting words. He really had come a long way since the Sorceress War.

'Come on. Looks like Garden's sent us a van to take us back. I don't know why they just didn't fly here.'

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'We've received word from Representative Rusco that the Grandidi Team has completed their mission and are requesting transport to pick them up,'

Cid the Headmaster of Balamb Garden looked thoughtfully through ageing eyes at Xu for a moment before speaking.

'Well deploy a boat to collect them all immediately to bring them into Balamb town and then send an armored car to bring them here.'

Xu nodded and proceeded to carry out the Headmaster's orders but before she could leave his office he stopped her with a question,

'Were there any casualties to the team?'

'Rusco said there were injuries but nothing seriously life-threatening, Sir'

'Was the fugitive caught alive?' he asked although he already had a feeling what the answer would be,

'No Sir. I'm afraid that's all I know,'

Cid smiled softly at his faithful assistant,

'Not to worry. Please inform Rusco that I want a full debriefing from the team when they get back. Thank you Xu,'

She bowed and made her way out of the office to leave Cid alone with his thoughts.

The mission had been long and had certainly not been without doubts but Cid had accepted it nonetheless. Only open to volunteers, the mission was one of the most serious and risky that Garden had ever taken on and he was almost ecstatic that none of his 1st class SeeDs had been killed. Cid folded his hands and placed them under his chin with his elbows resting on the huge oak table. He had no responsibility letting Esthar know of the situation. That was Rusco's responsibility so all Cid had to do was organize a committee to be present at the debriefing. He didn't imagine there would be need for a large number of people. The team had spent the last two months in the most secluded but dangerous place on Earth and he didn't want to intimidate them at all. Cid was fairly sure that the mission had gone well without a hitch but it was standard procedure to have a committee of SeeD superiors present at every debriefing. Cid was very curious as to why the fugitive had been killed considering that the five SeeDs who had volunteered happened to be five of the best and more than capable of catching one man. Well anything can happen in Grandidi Forest even the most unlikely and unexpected things can occur. He settled his thoughts on the matter at that and continued with the rest of his responsibilities while he waited for the squad to arrive.

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Quistis sighed heavily in relief as the last of her students left the classroom at the end of a busy day of instructing. She didn't know why but lately the time just seemed to drag on and on with the more lessons she had to take. She remembered when she'd first started teaching she had been so much more passionate about it then she had been of late and had looked so forward to instructing a whole group of young hopeful candidates. But now she just didn't have a drive for it anymore, which kind of disappointed her as she'd worked so hard to gain back her instructor's license.

She gathered all her things and stood up slowly wincing slightly as she felt a twinge in her neck. She must have slept awkwardly last night. She made her way to the lift and waited patiently for the car to arrive. She yawned for what must have been the hundredth time today and she begun wondering what she might do tonight. She knew she should catch up on her sleep before she fainted with exhaustion but she really didn't want to be alone. She decided she might see her friends tonight, as it had been such a long time since they'd spent any proper time together apart from the occasional breakfast in the cafeteria. Unlike her, they were always usually away on missions all over the world and at times she missed them terribly and wished they were around the Garden more often. But as she thought about it more she realized she didn't really wish her friends were around the Garden, she wished she was going with them on missions in Galbadia, Trabia, Esthar and so on. She missed the excitement she experienced when she had travelled and fought with her companions in the War and it was starting to weigh down on her teaching. Maybe she should reconsider her SeeD occupation?

Quistis was woken from her thoughts by the ding of the elevator and she stepped in to the car and pressed the button for the ground floor. As she stepped out again when the elevator reached the bottom she started thinking about her plans for the evening and about her future as an instructor again and soon became oblivious to what was happening around her. The only thing she was aware of was a sudden silence in the area near the front gates but she kept on walking. A voice that stood out from the hushed words and whispers jolted her into looking towards its origin.

'Look Fuj my adoring fans have all come out to greet me!' the voice said sarcastically.

Seifer.

Her breathing jumped, as she looked closer ashe saw an unmistakable figure standing just in front of Seifer with familiar stunning silver hair.

Fujin?

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

The attention from the crowd of SeeD's was needless to say very unsettling. Fujin knew the mission had a very high profile due to its controversy and it had obviously been debated about a lot within Balamb Garden. As she looked at the crowd that seemed to surround her with their questioning and curious looks, it was evident to her that they had already heard the outcome of the mission, and it seemed that their reactions were rather more mixed than Esthar's. Sensing Fujin's discomfort Seifer stood tall and defiantly amongst the SeeD's and his aggressive appearance almost dared them to say something out of line but, as always, no one took the challenge. The young cadets did not generally like him but his skills were certainly respected. Eventually the crowd dispersed as they seemingly lost interest, the volume raised and the three other team members left Seifer and Fujin without a word to join their friends and colleagues as they left the lobby.

Fujin lifted her gaze from the floor to watch the retreating mass but she was far from relieved. She had not been at all anxious of the judgement of her fellow SeeD cadets but rather she was more concerned of the ruling of the SeeD review committee. She ignored the passers by and continued walking on towards her quarters, desperate to lie down and recover from her injuries but as she saw a Garden faculty member approaching, she felt that familiar feeling of dread. Surely the committee did not want to see them already?

'Fujin Kazeno and Seifer Almasy?'

Fujin's face showed a mask of impassiveness as she nodded curtly to the man's question. She was not about to show any sign that she was nervous about anything.

'Welcome back. The Headmaster and the review board wish to speak to your squad now. Please report to Headmaster Cid's office right away.' he said.

'What! We don't even get a minute to rest!' Seifer said angrily to the messenger who showed no sympathy to either Seifer's or Fujin's injuries.

'Report to the Headmaster's office immediately' he repeated and then walked away.

'Rude bastard' Seifer muttered to Fujin who could not have agreed more. Fujin shoved her hands into the pockets of her black SeeD trench coat and with a heavy sigh of stress, exhaustion and trepidation she silently made her way to the elevator with her friend and tried to mentally prepare herself for the worst. Before they entered the car Seifer turned to Fujin and laid a reassuring hand upon her shoulder and offered her one of his genuine smiles that aimed to put his companion's mind at rest and it was gratefully received. Knowing Seifer, like herself, was not good with words, she knew it was hard for him to show warmth especially in public.

'I'm fine. I can handle this.' she said but Seifer's face still showed concern so she gave a cute lopsided grin that reminded him that Fujin was not a weak minded person, 'Trust me' she said and walked into the car with Seifer following close behind.

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Quistis stood and stared in near disbelief, as there stood the woman who she had almost believed to be dead for the past few weeks. _Any longer in that forest and she might have been _she thought. Quistis watched Fujin and her almost heart broke at the sight of her. She had sustained some injuries and they looked bad and extremely painful and those were only the ones that could be seen. She was silent as always and showed no sign of bother with the crowd that had engulfed around the squad but Quistis could tell that Fujin was exhausted and in a great deal of discomfort by her injuries and even by the unwanted attention. As Quistis watched her talking to the Garden staff and almost teasingly grinning at Seifer she realised she did not feel any different about her than she did two months ago. Even after Fujin had left without a word to her, Quistis still loved her. The urge to brush the stray bits of silver hair away from her face, and take away the pain of her injuries was almost too much to bear as she watched Fujin walk away from her again without so much as a glance in her direction. She was tempted to call her name but thought better of bellowing across the hallways and accidentally attracting more attention than intended. Instead, she stood still in the foyer trying so hard to erase the shocked expression on her face and force her legs to move and take her to her quarters but, to Quistis' extreme annoyance, they were just not working.

'Well shit on me!' yelled a rather buoyant voice from directly behind her that made Quistis jump slightly.

'Must you do that so loudly directly in my ear, Zell?' she said smiling slightly with a mock tone of annoyance. She looked from Zell to the elevator in the hope of maybe catching one more glimpse of Fujin but the doors had closed and the car was making its way up.

'So they're back then? For a minute there I thought that forest had got 'em!' he said while also watching the elevator rise.

'So did I,' Quistis said unable to hide the relief in her voice. Zell, however, did not seem to notice as he walked beside Quistis who had managed to regain function of her limbs and began making her way slowly to her quarters, her mind filled with thoughts of only Fujin. _Whereabouts was she now? Why was she not taken to the infirmary immediately when she clearly needed medical attention? They can't seriously be putting her in front of the review committee now?_ After a while of walking through many corridors and walking up numerous flights of stairs she became aware of Zell's unusual silent manner.

'Was there anything I could help you with Zell?' she asked him politely. Zell grimaced slightly. She had fallen back into her instructor stance and was being uncomfortably formal in front of him – something that Zell had noticed she was doing a lot lately and, in a way, it never ceased to irritate him. He felt like her student again and not her very good friend.

'Quisty?' he asked in what Quistis could tell was his _'I'm-worried-about-you' _voice. 'You would tell me if something were wrong wouldn't you? You know, if your not…ok you **can** talk to me,' he had stopped outside Quistis' apartment and was looking at her in that _'I'm-worried-about-you'_ way. She met his eyes feeling slightly guilty. Out of all the good friends she had she considered Zell to be her sort of favorite out of them all and when she made him worry, she felt guilty. She did long to tell him how she felt about Fujin and when she left the Garden unexpectedly it had hurt her so much more than she would have thought it would. But now that she was back it just seemed to hurt just the same if not even more. Quistis inwardly scolded herself. She tried to be more positive and focused on one thing: Fujin was back in Garden **alive.**

'I don't like how you're being all quiet on me lately that's all' he said looking away from Quistis and staring at his shoes. It was obvious that he preferred not to engage in such serious talk.

'I'm fine, Zell, seriously. You gotta stop worrying about me so much!' she said with a quiet laugh. There was a split second where she could tell by the look on his face that he did not quite believe her. Something she knew very well about Zell was his inability to admit defeat.

'You know I'm not gonna quit bugging you till you talk,' he said lightly.

'I'm just tired. Being an instructor can be tiring,' she tried to convince him. He stared at her silently for a long while.

'Ok if you say so. You gonna be at the cafeteria later on?'

'Yeah I'll see you there?'

'It's a date! See ya later!' he said cheerfully and he left. Quistis was glad he had accepted that she was fine fairly quickly.

'Coz then I can bug you more over dinner!' she heard him yell from the end of the corridor. She should have known.

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'Wait here please,'

The Headmaster's secretary placed Fujin, Seifer and the rest of their squad in the waiting area outside Headmaster Cid's office while she informed the committee that they had arrived. While everyone else sat down in the comfortable leather armchairs to get a small amount of relief Fujin preferred to remain standing and watching the scenery outside a huge window that spanned the whole of the third floor. The Garden had taken off again and was indeed a terrific sight to behold. No matter how many times she looked out of one of the Garden's windows and watched the many different landscapes fly by, she would never get bored of it. It made Fujin feel incredibly calm to watch Balamb's white mountains on the right and the vast blue ocean on the left pass sleekly by the Garden as though it was not Garden that was moving but the scenery. She focused to her right slightly and saw the harbour approaching over the horizon. She stepped back with a frown on her face _'I've just come from there' _she thought, definitely not appreciating the irony of it.

She continued to stand gazing out of the window. She began to wonder who would be on the committee. _Headmaster Cid of course, _she thought to herself. He was always present during mission reviews. _Would_ _Commander Leonhart be present? _She really hoped he would be as she was fairly sure he would not say a word and make her answer loads of questions. That is what she was really apprehensive about. All those questions that she would have to think up quick and precise answers for. She shook her head a little and tried to think whom else might she expect to see in the committee. She wondered. Might Quistis be there? It was a plausible thought as Quistis is one of the highest-ranking SeeDs in Garden after all. _Or should I go back to calling her Instructor Trepe now?_ Fujin thought that after basically running out on her suddenly without a word she had ruined any friendship that she had had with her. _Don't go thinking about that now. You have more immediate things that need to be taken care of, _she told herself. A door opening jolted her out of thoughts.

'The Headmaster and the committee are ready to see you all now,' the secretary said politely. She turned slowly and waited for Seifer to get up reluctantly and follow the rest of the squad into the large office. It was show time.

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The five exhausted SeeDs stood obediently shoulder to shoulder in front of the large oak oval table where the small review committee sat facing there own stack of papers - no doubt they were all reading through the mission details and the results. The committee was usually a selection of about three or four SeeDs; some were high ranking and experienced whereas others may sometimes be young rookies chosen to gain a feel for the tedious bureaucracy side of being a SeeD. It was a side of the job that Fujin and Seifer definitely did not care for. It was their responsibility to compile all the facts and inquire of any unusual actions of any SeeD that may have doubted any part of the mission specification. In other words, if there had been any disregard of strict Garden rules. If there was any evidence of a SeeD behaving inappropriately during a mission then severe disciplinary action could be taken and this was not always restricted to Garden. Action against a SeeD could be taken from any government or faction of any country in the world if the actions of the SeeD in question were seen to threaten them or compromise their laws. This was a rare situation but it was still a situation that Fujin was desperately trying to avoid. Even though she personally felt she had done nothing wrong she knew an outside observer might have a different point of view.

Fujin's hopes had raised slightly as she identified the members of this committee: Squall was present after all. As he was idly flicking through the sheets of paper in front of him she noticed straight away that he looked about as bored as she would if she had to sit through one of these reviews. Xu occupied the seat next to the Commander. She looked calm and attentive as she read like she always does but she was nearly always present at mission review meetings especially high profile ones. Besides the Headmaster the last person was Rusco the Mission Director - the representative from the Estharian Government. He unlike the others was not reading through the mission statements. Instead he was leaning back in the comfortable leather chair with a near cocky expression on his face, with his hands in his lap and twiddling his thumbs. He was too casual for Fujin's liking. To him this mission had been a success with no flaws and he obviously did not show any enthusiasm for this meeting. Fujin admitted she felt a little disappointed that Quistis was not present. A comforting glance a two from her would have made all the difference.

She heard Seifer sigh heavily with obvious impatience with the committee's slow perusal of the details and he coughed slightly to remind them that they were still standing in front of them with discomfort and pain. Fujin empathised with him and fixed her gaze on Headmaster Cid almost praying that he would switch his focus from the papers on the desk to the people stood in front his desk. Cid eventually looked up and greeted the team with a fleeting smile,

'Welcome back,' he said warmly, 'I know you're all feeling undoubtedly exhausted and desperate to get back to your own comfortable quarters so we'll try and get this over with as quickly as possible'. He glanced at Fujin seemingly trying to gauge how she felt about this but her expression was stoic and unreadable.

'So does anyone have any queries or problems regarding the results of this mission that they'd like to bring into question?' he asked the rest of the committee. Fujin shuddered slightly.

'No I don't think so Cid,' said Rusco smiling and sitting up in his chair, 'Pretty much an open and shut case don't you think? Just a fine bunch of SeeDs doing their job and a damn good job they did to,' he looked over at the five of them and nodded as if saying to himself that they were indeed 'a fine bunch of SeeDs.'

'No need for all this review nonsense if you ask me,' Rusco added.

Fujin heard a quiet hear hear from the direction of one of the other team members and by the disapproving expressions of both Cid and Xu, Fujin was not the only one to have heard him.

'Thankfully, Rusco, Garden does not enlist the help of government representatives such as yourself to run things here,' Xu said venomously more in defence of Headmaster Cid than anything else. Fujin was not sure how to feel now: pleased that Rusco was taking this with a pinch of salt or amused that Xu was knocking him down a peg or two. Rusco, not impressed by Xu's insolence, leaned back in his chair with the look of someone who was certainly not used to someone not agreeing with him. Cid chose to ignore the small altercation and asked if anyone else had something they wanted to bring up. Xu nodded and ignored Rusco's exasperated sigh,

'Just a few questions Headmaster. The mission objective stated that the fugitive, Reeno Black, was to be primarily caught alive to be re-imprisoned in Esthar. Why were five obviously capable SeeDs unable to bring him in alive?' She looked at the group questioningly. Fujin was surprisingly calm at the face of this question but Seifer was the one to speak for them all,

'The mission objective indeed stated that the fugitive, Reeno Black, was to be primarily caught alive to be re-imprisoned in Esthar' he said slightly mocking Xu's speech, 'however it also stated that if Black posed any threat to us then we were to take him in by any means necessary.' He paused.

Squall, suddenly interested in what they had to say, looked up when Seifer stopped talking.

'Well? What kind of a threat did he pose to you?' Squall said with a hint of amusement that Seifer would admit to feeling threatened by one man. Seifer glared at his old rival for a long time thinking for a good response that Squall would not be able to question. Fujin was starting to get more anxious. It became obvious to her that Squall was not going to believe Seifer. She could not let him cover for her anymore.

'I felt threatened,' she said immediately grabbing everyone's attention. 'He had guns. Starting shooting at us.' She said trying to look Xu in the eye as she spoke.

'It was obvious he wasn't gonna go without a fight, we were forced to take an offensive approach,' Seifer spoke up again as he sensed Fujin's discomfort with speaking in front of everyone.

'Fujin, you were the one that killed him weren't you?' Xu asked the silver- haired woman. The bluntness of it made Fujin shudder again. Yes, she had killed him.

'Yes,'

'Oh please! Is it really necessary to go through all of this?' Rusco spoke up against Xu but a raised hand from Cid warned him to be silent. Although he was an influential man in Esthar he knew his powers were greatly diluted in Garden.

'How come the rest of your team had not witnessed this? Only Seifer is written here as the only other person present with you when our transport arrived to pick you up.'

'I decided to split the team up after 45 days in the forest. We were getting frustrated. I thought it best to cover more ground and meet up later,' the team leader, Han, spoke with confidence. He was a tall lanky man with dark hair and a tough exterior. Right now though he looked about ready to collapse and was desperate to get out of this meeting. Fujin felt relief when Cid nodded in agreement with Han's decision to split the group into two.

'Good idea. You could have been gone for much longer than 3 months if you'd all stuck together,' he said not looking at anyone in particular but instead choosing to stare at the ceiling.

'Did any of you want to investigate this further?'

Fujin waited patiently but inside her heart had almost stopped beating. Xu looked like she was going to say more but something stopped her from going further. She shook her head.

'Squall?' Cid looked over to the Commander who no longer looked bored but deep in thought.

'I think this is Esthar's grievance. If they have no problems with the outcome then I agree with Xu that we don't need to investigate this further,' Squall said looking over to Fujin and Seifer. 'It was a dead or alive mission which resulted in the former and nothing more.' Fujin felt her heart start beating again. They believed them.

'Ok then well didn't I tell you we'd get this over with quickly?' Cid said with a chuckle as he rose from his seat. He walked over to the group and shook each of their hands and offered them congratulations on making it back safely. But he did something strange when he came to shake Fujin's hand that made her step back in confusion. He leaned in close and whispered quietly so no one else could hear,

'I'm sorry'. She stared in puzzlement at his kindly ageing face that wore an unmistakable sad apologetic smile as he looked back.

'You are dismissed, get some rest,' he said before turning to speak with a delighted Rusco. It took her a while to realise that she was allowed to leave and Seifer had to take her by the arm and lead her out as she continued to gaze questioningly at Cid. The next thing she knew she was stood in the lift with Seifer who was grinning at her.

'No problem Fuj,'

Then it had hit her. Maybe it was the odd exhilarating sensation of relief that came with getting away with something, or perhaps it was because now she felt a sense of freedom of being released from some controlling grasp that she had no power of that made her smile back at her friend. It was an expression that showed her incredulity but contentment that it was all finally over. But somewhere deep down a part of her knew it should not have been this easy.

_To be continued..._


End file.
